Japanese Lines' Container Losses Top $500 Million"Japanese carriers NYK, MOL and "K" Line's posted combined losses of more than $500 million on container operations in the last quarter of 2011 and warned that group-wide losses for their current fiscal years will be larger than previously forecast."

"Esprit Holdings Ltd., the clothing retailer struggling to recover from last year's 98 percent earnings slump, plans to close all stores in North America after failing to find a buyer for the unprofitable business."

South Korea, Japan want U.S. to detail Iran sanctions"Japan and South Korea will soon meet U.S. officials in Washington to ask how much oil they can import from Iran under new sanctions that leave the Asian nations with few alternative sources for energy, government officials said on Feb. 1."

Rival Libyan militias fight gunbattle in capital"Rival militias fought a two-hour gunbattle over a luxury beach house being used as a barracks in the Libyan capital Wednesday, underscoring how volatile the country is following the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi."

Unrest weighs on Bahrain economy's recovery"Bahrain's economy is rebounding on the back of heavy government spending and support from its neighbors, but a full recovery may be out of reach if anti-government protests continue."

"The Ministry of Energy and Water Resources today warned that the lack of electricity production reserves during peak hours this winter could force Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) to initiate blackouts. The ministry is asking the public to refrain from using high energy consuming appliances between 5 and 9 pm 'to prevent a situation in which it will not be possible to supply electricity.'"

Empty pumps fuel anger (South Africa)"Emotions ran high yesterday as frustrated and angered motorists scrambled to fill up their tanks while some filling stations countrywide ran out of petrol."

GE Sees More Casualties In Wind And Solar"General Electric Co. expects increased competition and a reduction in subsidies by cash-strapped governments to lead to more companies exiting the wind and solar power businesses, but the industrial behemoth still sees growing long-term demand."

Eskom: Risk of failure without savings (South Africa)"Power station managers regularly asked Dames when they could take some of their units offline, as if they did not carry out maintenance, there was a risk of catastrophic failure due to the system being overly stressed."

"China, contemplating the possible disruption of oil supplies from Iran, appears to be making moves toward cementing its links with energy newcomer Israel, a move that could outflank the United States in the Middle East."

"Ethanol production has boosted the prices of grains that Canadian farmers buy to raise cattle and pigs, and Ottawa should curb or eliminate its support for the industry, an agriculture research organization said on Tuesday."

Fuel costs put four utilities in the red"Four of the six power utilities that released their earnings results Tuesday fell into the red for the April-December period due to higher fuel costs for thermal power generation."

Constitutional Work Around: New Jersey Legislators Move to Ban Ammunition"While the second amendment protects our right to bear arms, some anti-gun advocates think they may have found a loophole. This afternoon the New Jersey Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee is set to consider two bills (Assembly Bill 588 and Assembly Bill 1013) that would essentially ban all handgun ammunition in the state, as well as some (or potentially all) rifle ammunition."